This application is for a new training program in the mechanisms of signal transduction in the nervous system at New York University Medical Center. The training faculty include fifteen distinguished scientists representing the Departments of Physiology and Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Microbiology Biochemistry and Cell Biology. The research interests of the program faculty encompass a broad range of fields, including growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, neurotrophic factors and the mechanisms by which extracellular and intracellular signals are transduced; cell adhesion molecules that influence neuronal axonal pathfinding and process outgrowth; selection of synaptic targets; ion channel function; and processes that lead to axonal-glial cell communication. The purpose of this program is to foster the training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in basic mechanisms by which neuronal, glial and neuromuscular structure and function are determined. The underlying theme of the program is that cell specification and function in the nervous system are dependent upon ligand-receptor interactions and activation of second messenger pathways. Based upon a record of productive interactions, research collaborations among the trainees and between the participating faculty will be fostered. Trainees will participate in activities including weekly seminars and journal clubs in cellular and developmental neurosciences, journal clubs, and meetings that are designed to provide a broad educational exposure. The emphasis in this training program will be on fundamental biochemical and cellular mechanisms, which are relevant to disorders of the nervous system, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, paralysis, multiple sclerosis and muscular dystrophy.